Sometimes I wonder if people realize - or ever could - just how much influence they've had on me. Not in a you-got-me-addicted-to-pot kind of influence (for the record, I opted out when given that opportunity. ha), but in a knowing-you-has-somehow-opened-my-eyes kind of way. Contributed to the way I think and who I am.
I've said numerous times in recent weeks that if the past year has taught me anything, it's that life can - and often does - put you in places or situations you'd likely never plan or expect, and somehow it seems to work itself out. No matter how often I think back over it, I'm still amazed. The role that so many people have played along the way, some far more so than others, is astounding.
It's a bit unsettling, really, to look back and think, What if I hadn't met ___? What if I hadn't gone to ___? What would my life look like today, who would I be today? Not to get fatalistic on you, but geesh. Working with someone in class a year ago led to our becoming close friends, which led, ultimately, to my spending a summer in Ghana. That summer in Ghana will now lead to my spending a summer in Denmark. Or had I gone the usual route of an English major at Dickinson instead of the graduating-early, double major that I am, leading me to spend a semester in Washington instead of a year in England. Sure, some other path would have yielded many opportunities of it's own, I'm sure, but the experiences I had and people I met in that time are invaluable, and I wouldn't dream of giving them up. And sure, perhaps some things could've gone better, perhaps there are some things that we wish we could change... but even the things that seem to have gone wrong led to other experiences, realizations or some kind of growth, etc.
One weekend nearing the end of my semester in DC, completely frustrated with the way a few things were going, I took a friend up on her offer for a day of three girls wandering about the city, brunching on a snazzy restaurant patio, art-museum-ing, and taking a rickshaw (seriously. try it.) down to the Tidal Basin. A top notch day, and just the sort of distraction I needed. On the way back to my apartment, I happened to make eye contact with someone in the metro, he struck up a conversation, and wham, it'd develop into yet another perspective I'd never have had the advantage of considering, and introduced me to others. Just like that.
Now, my goal isn't to wander into some fatalistic, philosophical conversation here. First and foremost, really, it's me babbling as I reflect in awe and unspeakable appreciation on all that people in my life have done for me, perhaps most importantly when unknowingly done. If only they knew... perhaps it's not so significant to them, but it is to the person they've shaped in some way or the thoughts they've raised. ...and second, I suppose, would be a reflection on that which I keep saying - somehow it works out.... with our own help and awareness. Appreciating the opportunities presented to us or learning from the people who surround us. Listening. Observing. ...It's simply amazing.
Of course, Elie Wiesel has far better incites than myself, and honestly, I just think he's pretty fantastic. ha... So without further ado or babbling on my part:
"You stop at words. You must learn to see through them, to hear that which is unspoken."
"And yet. Those are my two favorite words, applicable to every situation, be it happy or bleak. The sun is rising? And yet it will set. A night of anguish? And yet it too, will pass. The important thing is to shun resignation, to refuse to wallow in sterile fatalism... Must we stop time, then, and the sun? Yes, sometimes we must try, even if it is for nothing. Sometimes we must try because it is for nothing. Precisely because death awaits us in the end, we must life fully. Precisely because an event seems devoid of meaning, we must give it one. Precisely because the future eludes us, we must create it."
"And yet. Human miracles do exist, or rather, they could."
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